2008 Woodie Awards
Two MT players voted first team all-Sun Belt; MT picked fifth
Richard Lowe
Issue date: 7/23/08 Section: Sports
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"We are very proud of Desmond and Alex and feel they are very deserving of the recognition," head coach Rick Stockstill told MT Media Relations.
Gee, an all-purpose player from Greenville, Fla., has been elected to the postseason all-conference team the past two years as an all-purpose player. Last year, Gee led the team in all-purpose yards with 1,323 yards while sharing time at wide receiver, running back, and kick and punt returner. He was second on the team with 29 receptions for 382 yards and four touchdowns while also adding 162 yards on the ground.
Suber, a cornerback from Tampa, Fla., was named honorable mention in last year's postseason all-conference team. He was second in tackles with 59 while adding 7.5 tackles for loss, an interception, five pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Florida Atlantic University led all teams with eight players selected to the all-Sun Belt team. Its quarterback, Rusty Smith, was selected as the preseason offensive player of the year while Frantz Joseph, a linebacker for FAU, was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year.
Troy and Arkansas State each had five players voted onto the preseason team. Three players each represented the University of Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe.
Even though the future is considered bright for MT, coaches and media members believe that this will be a down year for the Blue Raiders. They are picked to finish fifth out of the eight teams in the conference.
Picked to finish first is last year's conference co-champion, FAU. The Owls return 18 of their 22 starters from last year's team that went 8-4 and defeated the University of Memphis in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The biggest challenger to FAU's crown will be the University of Troy. FAU defeated the Trojans in their season finale to secure their share of the conference championship. Since joining the conference in 2004, the Trojans have only finished worse than second twice. They return 14 starters on a team that defeated Oklahoma State University and came within 10 points of defeating No. 10 University of Georgia.
The only other team to receive a first place votes was Louisiana-Monroe, who finished last season winning six of its final eight games, including wins over FAU and the University of Alabama.
The conference football season begin Aug. 28 when Troy visits MT in their annual Battle of the Palladium. Troy is currently riding a two game win streak over the Blue Raiders, including a one-point victory that clinched a share of the Sun Belt crown for the Trojans.
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